TRENTON — There are 76 individuals on New Jersey’s sex offender registry with addresses in Cape May County, and over 2,700 reside throughout the state.
The registry – which in addition to name and address provides photographs, descriptions, lists of sex crimes and vehicle information for offenders – is available to the public via the State Police Web site: www.njsp.org.
The registry also explains offenders’ modus operandi, styles or patterns in their crimes. “Registrant befriended victim to gain trust” and “Offender babysat victims” and “Takes advantage of situations involving young children” are some examples.
Visitors can search the registry for individuals by geographic location or vehicle information or search for recently added offenders.
According to an online warning, individuals are prohibited from misusing sex offender registry information to threaten, intimidate or harass; and may be subject to criminal prosecution or civil liability.
On Oct. 15, a Herald search revealed 76 individuals registered in 23 geographic locations throughout Cape May County. The Wildwood and Rio Grande areas were found to have the most registered sex offenders, 13 each, followed by Court House and North Cape May, both with six offenders.
According to the registry, 21 of this county’s offenders were reported “in custody” and one offender is a fugitive from justice.
Mandated under Megan’s Law, the registry lists those who have been convicted of a sex offense and pose a high or moderate risk of committing future offenses. Those individuals are classified as Tier III or Tier II offenders. Individuals that pose a low risk of re-offense are classified as Tier I offenders.
Tier III offenders must register for life and report in person for monitoring every three months. These high-risk offenders are also monitored around-the-clock by the state Parole Board using GPS (Global Positioning System) ankle bracelet devices.
Seven Tier III offenders are registered in this county including one female.
Tier II offenders have to register for 25 years and must report in person every six months.
There are 69 Tier II sex offenders registered in this county.
Tier I offenders register for 15 years and must report in person every year. They are not listed on the state registry.
County Prosecutor Robert Taylor said an offender’s tier is set by the court system upon his/her release from prison. He said it was a complex process that involves several factors including the offender’s criminal history, potential for recidivism and counseling history.
“Cape May County has one of the best records of all 21 counties for getting their offenders tiered,” he said. “We’re very proactive in getting the information posted on the Internet registry for our residents.”
According to Taylor, sex offender monitoring is handled on a cooperative basis between his office and local police departments. Detectives make periodic spot checks to verify that the offenders are living at their reported residences, he said.
“We also investigate complaints made by concerned citizens regarding the offenders,” he added. “Offenders are arrested and charged with failure to notify police of change of address, a crime of the fourth degree.”
Last month, Detective Edward Dougherty, Megan’s Law compliance officer for Lower Township Police Department, charged two offenders with failure to notify their changes in address after routine checks. Dougherty worked with Prosecutor’s Office Detective Ashley Hand on one arrest and Middle Township Detective Clint Stocker on the other.
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com
Avalon – Maybe deport them instead of destroying what was once a great city! This is ridiculous. New York City launched a pilot program to help migrants transition out of city shelters by providing them with…
